Photo: Courtesy of Car and Driver
All the details about the 2019 Genesis G70 have finally been released. Pricing was announced a few days ago, but pricing isn’t the only thing that was revealed from the information given.
The fine folks at Hyundai, Genesis’ parent company, have made it perfectly clear what this car is designed to do. Its $34,900 starting price places it squarely in the path of the BMW 3 series, Mercedes C Class, and Audi A4.
But don’t think for a minute that the G70, just because it’s technically a Hyundai, can be taken lightly. It has more standard features than the 3 series, starts at $5000 less than the C Class, and comes with as much horsepower in its lowest trim level as the A4 does in its highest trim level.
That should be a sobering dose of reality for the German automakers.
It’s also great for those in the market for a new car.
Consumer Reports rated the Genesis brand the best of 2018 for customer satisfaction. At its base price, the G70 is still less than the average price of a brand new car, and with options it hits the mark almost perfectly.
This car is far from average, though. The G70 will be one of the best cars introduced to the public in the past decade. It will also be one of the best looking cars of the past decade as well.
Offering a 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder or a 3.3 liter twin turbocharged V6 engine, you will have plenty of get-up-and-go with either option. The four cylinder offers 252 horsepower while the V6 produces 365 horsepower.
All this might sound fairly normal for a sports sedan nowadays, but the power isn’t what makes the G70 stand out.
The 2.0 turbo comes with optional Brembo brakes, a limited slip differential, a manual transmission, rear wheel drive, and more safety features than you could shake a stick at. It’s an enthusiast car for non-enthusiasts. Don’t get me wrong though… enthusiasts will love it too.
The G70 is refreshing to look at and drive in its 4 cylinder version. There are so few new cars that offer this amount of pure driving experience. Even though the V6 models don’t offer a manual transmission, the sport settings make the car feel lighter, nimbler, and more athletic than its weight would suggest.
No matter what version of the G70 you choose to get, you can’t really go wrong. With the additional option to have all wheel drive, that’s even harder to do.
We gave you our thoughts on the Kia Stinger a few months back, and we think a lot of same things about that car as we do with the G70. They are, after all, built on the same platform. There is a difference though.
Everybody loves the Stinger so far. The twin turbo V6 GT sounds great and is great because it’s an “outside of the box” kind of a car. It’s a car that pushes the boundaries of what’s normal, despite the real possibility of not being a huge success.
The people that understand its purpose, love it. The problem with the Stinger is that it will always be underappreciated, no matter how appreciated it actually is.
The G70 has a chance to be a better car because it’s a more normal car on the outside. Its beautiful styling makes it stand out enough without being so far in left field that it scares people away.
It offers a manual transmission, along with all the goodies to make it a legitimate sports car, should the rear doors be taken away. But, the G70 does have four doors which makes it a genuinely usable sedan.
It has the ability to be sufficient for anybody’s needs without being offensive in any way to anybody.
The Genesis G70 is uniquely positioned to be one of, if not the best car of the past decade. Its combination of price, usability, and well-roundedness is largely unrivaled in the automotive industry.
The necessary movement toward general automotive dullness due to regulations, new technology, and the consumers’ decreased desire to care about operating a motor vehicle are counteracted by what the G70 is designed to do and the feelings it’s designed to invoke.
It offers an alternative for those who care about driving. It also offers a temporary fix for those who don’t care but still need something that makes them look good when they pull into work every day.
For everyone else, the G70 is just another new car from just another manufacturer trying to do its best when the internal combustion engine is fighting an increasingly difficult battle to stay relevant.
But even they have to admit that the G70 is something special, especially as all the satisfied Genesis owners start getting them out on the roads.
